William DeWolf Hopper, Jr. (January 26, 1915 – March 6, 1970) was an American stage, film and television actor. The only child of actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in predominantly minor roles in more than 80 feature films in the 1930s and 1940s. After serving in the United States Navy during World War II he left acting, but in the mid-1950s he was persuaded by director William A. Wellman to resume his film career. He became best known for his work in television, as private detective Paul Drake in the long-running CBS series, Perry Mason.

William DeWolf Hopper, Jr., was born January 26, 1915, in New York City.[1] He was the only child of noted actor, singer, comedian and theatrical producer DeWolf Hopper and his fifth wife, actress Hedda Hopper. He had one older half-brother, John A. Hopper, from his father's second marriage in the 1880s.[2] Hopper made his film debut as a baby in his father's 1916 silent movieSunshine Dad.[3] His mother divorced his father in 1922 and moved to Hollywood with their son. Hedda Hopper became one of America's best-known gossip columnists, with nearly 30 million readers in newspapers nationwide.[4]

Paramount Pictures contract players Wolfe Hopper and Gail Patrick in July 1936; 20 years later William Hopper was Paul Drake and Gail Patrick Jackson was executive producer of the CBS-TV series, Perry Mason

In 1953 director William Wellman persuaded Hopper to resume his movie career with his 1954 film, The High and the Mighty,[15] opposite Jan Sterling. Before filming began Hopper challenged Wellman because he suspected his mother had arranged the offer. "When it appeared Wellman was serious, I asked him if he knew whose son I was. He ignored me," Hopper recalled. "I was so lousy, so nervous, I didn't even know where the camera was. But somehow Billy got me through. Afterward, I thanked him. He said, 'Thank me, my foot. After this, you're going to be in every picture I make.' I didn't believe him."[7]:60 Hopper subsequently appeared two of Wellman's films, Track of the Cat (1954) and Good-bye, My Lady (1956).[3]

Hopper was cast to star opposite Claire Trevor in the live television drama, "No Sad Songs for Me",[7]:61 broadcast April 14, 1955, on NBC's Lux Video Theatre.[16] He had such stage fright he initially cancelled: "I swore I'd never act again as long as I lived," Hopper recalled. "Then I thought, what the heck, they can't shoot me, and walked on the set. Something happened then. It was as if someone had surgically removed the nerves."[7]:61

Hopper is best known for his principal role as the private investigator Paul Drake on CBS's courtroom television series Perry Mason (1957–66). He initially tested for the title role, while Raymond Burr read for the role of Mason's courtroom adversary, district attorney Hamilton Burger. Burr was encouraged to lose weight and return to audition for the role of Perry Mason — which he later did, successfully.[a][17] Hopper, too, was called back. Executive producer Gail Patrick Jackson recalled, "When Bill Hopper came in to read for Paul Drake he blurted out, 'You hate my mother.' And that was Hedda Hopper. Well, I disliked what she stood for, but 'hate' is something else — and anyway he was perfect as Drake, and we got him."[18]

"As Paul Drake, William Hopper was called on to be the most versatile of the principals in the Perry Mason cast," wrote Brian Kelleher and Diana Merrill in their chronicle of the TV series:[7]:61

He was not only the careful investigator, the duke-it-out tough guy, the ladies' man, and the hipster, but also the fall guy, the strikeout artist, the "eating machine" and "the big kid." Hopper's Drake alone provided the comic relief for the show. And, despite being a rather late bloomer to the acting field, he played all the parts surprisingly well and believably. His appearances made fair shows good, and good shows better.[7]:61

In the 1959 episode, "The Case of Paul Drake's Dilemma," Hopper played the defendant, the only time in the series' nine-year run that Paul Drake was tried for murder.[7]:65

Hopper worked in summer stock and made movie appearances during his years on Perry Mason. After the series was cancelled in 1966 he declined other TV offers. He made one final film appearance in Myra Breckinridge (1970),[7]:66 unreleased at the time of his death.[19]